Bear's "escalating behavior" closes campsite in New Hampshire's White Mountains

CBS News

8 hours ago

A bear's "escalating behavior" has forced a campsite in New Hampshire's White Mountains to close, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The "food habituated" black bear has recently damaged several tents and a screen enclosure at the Franconia Brook Tentsite, a federally designated wilderness area near Lincoln on the East Side Trail in the Pemigewasset Ranger District. The agency posted a photo of the damage on Friday.
The campsite was still closed as of Monday morning, and will stay closed until the bear is no longer posing a danger to campers.
"The closure is needed to protect public health and safety," the Forest Service said.
Last year, the agency said hungry bears were following campers and "begging for food" in the same area and other locations in the White Mountains. And in July, the Forest Service said it was receiving an increasing number of reports about bears interacting with hikers and campers in search of food.
Just as it did last year, the Forest Service is urging campers to keep food in locked cars or special bear containers. Any trash should be thrown away in bear-proof dumpsters.
"Improperly stored food not only attracts bears to people currently camping at a site, but lets the bear know that it can find food at that campsite in the future," the agency said.
Those who do not store their food properly could be issued a citation. Anyone who encounters a bear should back away slowly and, if necessary, try to scare it away with loud noises and by making themselves look as large as possible.